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WaPo reporter backtracks, says postal workers NOT exempt from federal vaccine mandate

September 10, 2021 | | Print Article

A reporter for The Washington Post walked back and clarified a claim on Thursday night that postal workers were exempt from President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all federal workers and contractors.

“JUST IN: White House official now says USPS workers ARE part of the federal vaccine mandate order under OSHA jurisdiction, though technically not under the executive order,” Washington Post reporter Jacob Bogage tweeted.

“Deleting a previous thread that was based on earlier reporting,” he announced. “Will also momentarily update our writeup.”

The federal vaccine mandate affects approximately 650,000 USPS workers and many are very unhappy with that development. Lawsuits are already being organized on the constitutionality of the executive order and federal mandate.

Prior to the correction, the Washington Post and a slew of media outlets had reported that postal employees were exempt from the executive order but were “strongly encouraged” to comply with Biden’s mandate and get vaccinated. The Post cited information from an anonymous White House official.

The Washington Post story originally mentioned the American Postal Workers Union which represents postal employees and came out in July against vaccine mandates. At the time, they asserted, “While the APWU leadership continues to encourage postal workers to voluntarily get vaccinated, it is not the role of the federal government to mandate vaccinations for the employees we represent.”

Biden was endorsed by the postal union during the 2020 presidential race.

(Video Credit: WLWT)

“This is stunning,” Bogage originally tweeted in response to the presumed exemption of U.S. postal workers according to the Washington Times.

“One of the things we’ve learned during the pandemic is [that] the Postal Service is a key part of national infrastructure & homeland security. We’ve seen what’s happened to service when there have been pandemic-related staffing shortages. But USPS workers are exempt,” he noted.

Bogage also stated before deleting a number of tweets that “OSHA will fine businesses with 100 employees or more $14k per vaccine/testing violation. But the US Postal Service, a Goliath of [a] federal agency, is exempt.”

Chief National Affairs correspondent for CNN Jeff Zeleny tweeted the correction also: “Postal Service workers are not subjected to federal mandate, but fall under the Labor Department rule announced by President Biden aimed at businesses with more than 100 employees, a senior administration official tells CNN, with employees required to vaccinate or test weekly.”

Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan states:

“The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement. This requirement will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses with 100+ employees.”

 

The confusion arose from the fact that the USPS operates outside the executive branch and therefore is not subject to presidential orders that would normally apply to government employees unless they are specifically mentioned in the order.

The president also announced he is calling on state governors to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for all teachers and school employees.

“Vaccination requirements for schools are nothing new,” Biden asserted. “They work. They’re overwhelmingly supported by educators and their unions.”

Many Republicans and a number of legal experts believe the mandate is unconstitutional.

“This is absolutely unconstitutional. The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans.,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) adamantly stated in a tweet.

“Mandates are not the answer,” Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) tweeted. “Getting the vaccine should be up to you and your doctor — not the federal government.”

“All 9 million federal employees should consult with their doctor and make a personal, informed decision about taking the vaccine,” proclaimed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) on Twitter. “Instead, Sleepy Joe says take it or else… You don’t lead by coercion. Biden has failed as a leader in every way.”

“This is unconstitutional,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL). “The U.S. Constitution does not give the President this type of authority. No where in Article 2 of the Constitution will you find anything that even remotely gives the President this kind of power.”

There was an intense reaction on social media concerning Biden’s vaccine mandate:

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